Weeks after first revealing the Xbox One to the world and days before its follow-up events at E3 next week, Microsoft has finally broken its silence on a number of important and, until now, confusing Xbox One issues. Today, the company published a post spanning topics from used games and disc lending to online connections and Kinect-based privacy concerns.

First off—the big questions about used games and game licensing. "Today, some gamers choose to sell their old disc-based games back for cash and credit," Microsoft wrote. "We designed Xbox One so game publishers can enable you to trade in your games at participating retailers. Microsoft does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games."

Microsoft didn't go into detail on exactly how this resale process would work, but we can glean a bit from the language they did use. For instance, the "games publishers can enable you" bit heavily implies that those publishers can also decide not to allow for used discs to be resold at all. In fact, later in the announcement, they confirm that "third-party publishers may opt in or out of supporting game resale and may set up business terms or transfer fees with retailers."

The "participating retailers" phrasing implies that not just any store will be able to accept your trades. Rather, the retailer will probably have to sign on to some sort of online system to confirm that the game is no longer associated with your Xbox Live account (more on that account linkage is described below). Microsoft for its part "does not receive any compensation as part of this [used game sales process]" and "does not charge a platform fee to retailers, publishers, or consumers for enabling transfer of these games."

What if you don't want to go through a retailer to sell your disc or give it to a friend? Microsoft has you covered there to some extent. The company writes that "Xbox One is designed so game publishers can enable you to give your disc-based games to your friends. There are no fees charged as part of these transfers. There are two requirements: you can only give them to people who have been on your friends list for at least 30 days and each game can only be given once."

Again, publishers can block the ability to give away games if they choose. The limit on giving each game disc only once also severely limits how freely discs can be passed around among Xbox One owners. Many games on trading services get passed around multiple times before reaching their final owners.

The Xbox One licensing system means an end to game rentals as we know them, at least at launch. "Loaning or renting games won’t be available at launch, but we are exploring the possibilities with our partners," Microsoft announced bluntly.

All games for Xbox One will be available the same day on discs or as downloads. Even if you buy the disc, though, the game will be playable without it after being installed on any Xbox One system. That is, as long as you log in to the associated Xbox Live account. You'll be able to download the digital version of the game to any system too, even if you originally bought it on disc.

That should handle the problem of bringing games over to a friend's house (though loaning a disc to a friend long-term could be a different matter). Family members won't have to log in as you in order to play games on your own personal system, though; those games will be playable by anyone using that primary system. You can "share" access to your games with up to 10 family members, giving them the added ability to bring those games over to a friend's house for instance.

All of this, of course, is not set in stone. "As we move into this new generation of games and entertainment, from time to time, Microsoft may change its policies, terms, products and services to reflect modifications and improvements to our services, feedback from customers and our business partners, or changes in our business priorities and business models or for other reasons," the company writes. "We may also cease to offer certain services or products for similar reasons."

Always Online? Always watching?

Apparently, Microsoft doesn't see the Xbox One as a system intended for people who don't have broadband in the home at all. "Because every Xbox One owner has a broadband connection, developers can create massive, persistent worlds that evolve even when you’re not playing," the company writes. Microsoft recommends a connection of at least 1.5Mbps, or using mobile broadband "in areas where an Ethernet connection is not available."

While the broadband connection doesn't have to be "persistent" to use the Xbox One, Microsoft says the console is "designed to verify if system, application, or game updates are needed and to see if you have acquired new games, or resold, traded in, or given your game to a friend." Your primary console can be offline for up to 24 hours without this online check-in, while a secondary console (i.e. one accessing your library/account at a friend's house) can only be offline for an hour at a time.

While gaming is not possible if these online check-in times are not met, you'll still be able to watch TV or DVD movies without a connection. In addition, "games that are designed to take advantage of the cloud may require a connection."

In response to privacy concerns raised by the "always on" description of the Xbox One and its attached Kinect, Microsoft has clarified that "you are in control of when Kinect sensing is On, Off or Paused." When the system is "off," the Kinect will only listen for a single phrase—"Xbox On"— and even that feature can be turned off.

Microsoft stresses that the Xbox One will "navigate you through key privacy options, like automatic or manual sign in, privacy settings, and clear notifications about how data is used" when it is first set up. The Kinect will not record or upload "simply having a conversation," Microsoft says, and it will not send data "such as videos, photos, facial expressions, heart rate, and more... without your explicit permission." In addition, navigation for the Xbox One UI can be controlled with a regular controller as well as voice and gesture commands.

There's a lot of information in this afternoon data dump from Microsoft, and we're still sifting through and processing it all. Expect more analysis and opinion about the system's unique features soon.

Internet connection required to play single player game? Epic Fail. I have never purchased (or pirated) a game with this requirement. And never will. Baked into the system itself? Well Microsoft ensured I will remain a PC gamer for a long time.

Out of curiosity (legitimately), if you have a current console system - do you always leave it connected / online? Basically from a practicality standpoint will it make any difference? I'm certainly not deriding your decision to pass based on principal, totally cool. I just know for me that my system is just always connected by default and I don't really even think about it. I'm wondering if this is similar with 98% of people or if many actually have systems not connected frequently.

This seems like a compromise, Gamestop isn't screwed over (not entirely) but publishers can manage their used titles however they want, so there'll be a several week blackout on used copies, with that amount of time growing or shrinking based on the percentage the developer gets out of each used sale (I can imagine Gamestop exclusives on used copies happening).

The "business terms" could even be an agency model, ala Apple and Amazon. They set the prices so they don't hurt their new sales so much.

All in all, a working compromise, one that completely ignores one very important party - the gamers. This does nothing for us and there's going to have to be pretty good side benefits given to help sell it. The family sharing doesn't really do it for me (my family is in Australia, I'm in Canada, what's the bet it doesn't cross borders?), the diskless system should have existed anyway (it makes sense, easier to deal with lost disks and faster load times), I can really see why Microsoft wasn't forward with this stuff.

Steam on the PC and the XBO are different scenarios. Let's go over why:

Buying in. People owned PCs before Steam existed and don't pay Valve a penny to buy one. XBO requires you fork over $400 (or whatever the price is), the majority of which goes to MS.

Competition. Don't like Steam or how it works? Buy game from anywhere else. Don't like how MS runs their system? $400 paperweight. Competition has several secondary effects, like discounting, keeping business honest, etc. Steam has those; MS won't.

Sales. AAA, multi-million seller, Game-of-the-Year winners go on sale regularly. We know how Steam works with its pricing. Microsoft? Don't yet know. We have seen when the same game is sold digitally and brick-and-mortar that the digital version does not get comparable sales.

Trust. We trust Steam because we've seen how it works. MS has not earned our trust. And being our only XBO option, it's an easy position to abuse.

Offline usability. Your PC works perfectly fine without an internet connection. Steam will still play your installed games. XBO goes dead in 24 hours (if it won't play games, it's dead to me).

Value-added or taken away. Steam's introduction and existence does nothing to take away from our computer gaming experience. Some of us even like its features; the rest can ignore it. XBO and its online DRM are a major step backwards from the 360 in every ownership aspect.

So while they are both digital distribution platforms, Steam and XBO are very different beasts.

Things I'm looking forward to Steam doing, since PC gaming will save us all:* Allowing my family access to my game catalogue for free.* Allowing me to give a game I bought to a friend when I'm done with it.* Allowing me to re-sell games I don't want anymore.* Guaranteeing their DRM servers will be up forevermore so I'll never lose anything.* Allowing me to rent games.

Like, okay, the landscape is changing. I get it and I see why it's unpleasant. On the other hand people seem to LOVE Steam despite all of the above points being things that will literally never happen.

One question I have that still hasn't been addressed (so far as I've seen) is whether or not games will remain playable *if you get banned* from Xbox's service. It's sounding more and more like they're moving toward practically a digital distribution model, where the physical discs aren't even necessary beyond quicker installs. So kind of like Steam.

With Steam, you are merely buying a license to play a game. Per their subscriber agreement: "The Software is licensed, not sold. Your license confers no title or ownership in the Software. To make use of the Software, you must have a Steam Account and you may be required to be running the Steam client and maintaining a connection to the Internet."

That means if you get banned from Steam, you lose access to all your "licensed content." The primary advantage to consoles has been the ability to *own* the games you buy. So Microsoft bans you, you still have the disc. But when the software on that disc is tied explicitly to your account, what happens if you get banned?

441 Reader Comments

Internet connection required to play single player game? Epic Fail. I have never purchased (or pirated) a game with this requirement. And never will. Baked into the system itself? Well Microsoft ensured I will remain a PC gamer for a long time.

1. Stream from all of my subscribed services for free.2. Access the Nitendo Network for free.3. Controll my cable box for free (does not even need to be on as the tabley will turn on when you press the TV buttion)4. Play any other Wii U disk that I borrow.5. Does not require an Internet connection to actually play single player portions of gamesthat support playing multiplayer over the internet.6. Does not require an internet connection at all if you are just using it as a stand alone console.

Nintendo lets me

1. sell my used games that I buy on a media (DVD for example)2. Trade said games3. Lend said games

Another thought: Microsoft may not give one solid shit that I'm considering delaying my XBox One purchase. My parents, who do precisely zero gaming, are buying one. Microsoft seems to be aiming squarely at the mass market. Like I said, this decision does not actually affect me, but it does play a role in when I'll buy one, potentially.

But the fact that people who would never buy a dedicated game machine, who loathe upgrading and learning new things are talking about it, excited about it, and are asking me to set it up reminds me of the iPhone launch. My parents didn't own Blackberries, hated email on phones. The iPhone comes out, and suddenly they want in.

The iPhone, however, didn't have an installed base that they pissed off in order to get the mass market though. It's important to remember that distinction.

I dont know about you, but I am content of washing my hands of gaming and picking up a different hobby. Ham Radio, RC Airplanes, Photography, Gardening, cycling, maybe fishing. Those of the alternatives I have in mind. Kind of like giving Media a Big Middle Finger and just turning off the TV. Maybe I should do that anyways, any of those hobbies will do wonders to lower my stress levels, allow me to be creative and enrich my life in many other ways.

I dont have to game. I also imagine others will see it that way too. I have no interest in managing the license requirements of my game. Oh want to borrow Halo? oh wait..whats your gamertag? wait... do I have the disk? Oh screw it... Lets just get a beer together. Ever play darts?

Hey, great response actually. I appreciate that your principles mean more to you than the convenience / mind-numbing joy of jamming on some button mashing.

To be clear I really don't care. It may be that I have more free cash than sense, I don't know, but I stopped caring about the portability of my game software when I said goodbye to my SNES. Those games didn't have DRM or licensing whackiness, but realistically I can't legally play anything from an SNES without re-buying a new port.

Turns out that just doesn't bug me.

On the TV front? I cut the cord (except for my yearly payout to the NFL) some time ago and I'm ecstatic. I think I just love games a lot more and I'm willing to embrace the changing landscape in exchange for cool new games.

Lots of people hate the lack of reselling of games and this will make them stick with steam (a system that doesn't allow resale). This logic doesn't make sense to me. Now, it is fair to wonder how the price drop will be handled but my opinion is that anyone that likes steam cannot complain about the Xbox one just yet. Maybe in a year after we see no price drops for games but until then I don't see the basis for complaining. Still, in the end it is a good idea to vote with your wallet. If you hate the new paradigm then you should absolutely pass on the xbone.

Lots of people hate the lack of reselling of games and this will make them stick with steam (a system that doesn't allow resale). This logic doesn't make sense to me. Now, it is fair to wonder how the price drop will be handled but my opinion is that anyone that likes steam cannot complain about the Xbox one just yet. Maybe in a year after we see no price drops for games but until then I don't see the basis for complaining. Still, in the end it is a good idea to vote with your wallet. If you hate the new paradigm then you should absolutely pass on the xbone.

Steam makes sense becuase of the price point. Many times titles are sold for between $5 and $10 including all DLC. for that price I am willing to accept those restrictions, for a $60 game on media, I am not.

Well, I'll admit it. I was wrong. I was wrong when I said Microsoft would never do any of these stupid things. I gave them too much credit.

Here's the thing: if Sony doesn't do the same things, publishers are going to favor XBox One. If publishers giving favorable treatment to XB1 results in more XB1 consoles being sold, it will validate this business decision.

Sony, it's up to you to favor consumers. All you have to do is leave things the way they are: where discs can be passed around, and downloaded games cannot. If you make downloadable games cheaper, folks will buy those and it will solve the used game "problem" for you without pissing off consumers. Just don't follow Microsoft's lead. Please.

Lots of people hate the lack of reselling of games and this will make them stick with steam (a system that doesn't allow resale). This logic doesn't make sense to me. Now, it is fair to wonder how the price drop will be handled but my opinion is that anyone that likes steam cannot complain about the Xbox one just yet. Maybe in a year after we see no price drops for games but until then I don't see the basis for complaining. Still, in the end it is a good idea to vote with your wallet. If you hate the new paradigm then you should absolutely pass on the xbone.

Steam makes sense becuase of the price point. Many times titles are sold for between $5 and 10 including all DLC. for that price I am willing to accept those restrictions, for a $60 game on media, I am not.

Right but we don't know how pricing is going to be managed. A year from now we might but for now I am unclear what the difference is between the two levels of DRM (except I seem to have more options with Xbox one). If there are no sales then I can see the xbone dying but with reasonable sales it seems superior to steam (I guess time will tell).

what they fail to realize is that the 2nd hand and rental market has a huge effect on driving new game sales.

I swear I don't mean this to be a stupid question, even though it probably is, but how so? I've never really understood why used game sales, which seems to be a completely dying business given Gamestop's perpetual financial woes, and the lack of any other major similar chains (that I'm aware of).

I may just be blind to it, though. I hate used/rental physical media, and don't lend out my stuff, ever, to anyone. Microsoft could've announced that attempting to play a used game would send a million volts through the XBone controller and I would happily buy one without fear of the lightning bolt.

If it's just the philosophical distinction—don't tell me what to do with my stuff—that I can understand, but it seems people have more of a practical nit to pick with limiting used game sales. I had no idea it was such a big thing, I guess.

Used game sales are critical to gamers who might be on the fence or just not that passionate about a particular game. I can give a personal example: I was curious about Arkham Asylum, but I really wasn't willing to pay full price for something that I could've ended up not liking. I found it used for $30, played it, LOVED it, and pre-ordered Arkham City (new, obv.) when those were available.

The flip side of my story: What if the gamer who sold the copy of the game I purchased was the one who bought it new, took it home, hated it, and wanted it out of the house? The used market offers dissatisfied gamers at least some recourse to recoup costs for a game that they don't enjoy.

So...what? Pressuring developers to produce quality games is a bad thing?

The flip side of the flip side? Buying it for $30 during a 50% off sale, which the platform certainly allows for. I hope it goes there.

EditAnd that's if the full retail price of a new game stays steady at $60, which I'd put odds against.

[quote=Steve Sheldon] Right but we don't know how pricing is going to be managed. A year from now we might but for now I am unclear what the difference is between the two levels of DRM (except I seem to have more options with Xbox one). If there are no sales then I can see the xbone dying but with reasonable sales it seems superior to steam (I guess time will tell).[/quote]

How is Xbox superior to Steam? Compared to the 360, Steam has FAR better pricing and a much wider game selection...

Question for everyone who is frustrated with the inability to resell your games: Do you use Steam? If so, does Steam allow you to resell the games you bought? If not, how is that different from what Microsoft is doing here?

I know that Steam has the ability to trade certain things, but that doesn't allow straight game reselling, right?

I'm not trying to troll, here. I'm genuinely curious. Seems like a lot of people are saying they'll stick with gaming on their PC, which is great, and I'm fully in favor of that. But almost every single PC gamer I know (myself included) uses Steam.

I use steam. I buy my games at 75% off. Most of my friends don't have gaming PCs so i dont need to trade games with them. I do have a few friends who play MMOs, but they are benefitted by steam (updates) and cost the same amount without it, so no loss there. Many of my friends and family have consoles, and i trade games with them often. None of us will go with the XBone because of the anti-gamer policies.

You make it sound like console games do not get discounts. Is this a USA-specific phenomenon? As I think there have been discounting in Australia

I hope MS knows something that no one else does, this news is terrible and makes the Xbox 360 more like a fluke success.

I am kind of shocked that after the reaction the unveil event that MS would plow ahead with this like it was no big deal.

I suppose MS wanted to get the bad news out there before E3 but I don't think it is going to work like MS thought it would.

Can you imagine the boos at E3 if they would have announced all of this then? I'm hoping they still get some for good measure. I'm not exactly a high roller, but I've got 2 360s and 15+ games, and with this news, unless they go back on it (not likely), there is an extremely small chance I'll be buying a One. Never say never I guess, but I don't see what could sway me at this point.

Internet connection required to play single player game? Epic Fail. I have never purchased (or pirated) a game with this requirement. And never will. Baked into the system itself? Well Microsoft ensured I will remain a PC gamer for a long time.

You're a PC gamer that doesn't use Steam? How weird.

I can play Steam Offline. The shock, the horror! Microsoft is almost completely disabling this option on the X-Boner. My internet connection craps out for more than a day like has happened repeatedly, I can still play Tomb Raider offline. Steam has offline mode that can stay offline indefinitely. The X-Boner doesn't have this.

Bottom line for me, No Rentals, No purchase. I rent all my console games first, and keep the ones I like. There is no possibility I'll buy a XB1. Out of the approximate 40 games I own on the PS3 I rented 30 of them first, similarly out of the about 20 XB360 games I bought I rented 15 of them first.

I am waiting for clarification on the PS4. If gamefly rentals are still there on the PS4 I'll buy one at launch, otherwise I am no longer getting any console.

All this is going to do is lead to massive amounts of piracy because people will not like the idea that a company can say no resales. You own it but you don't.. Do they actually think the X One is hack proof? If so it seems they've learned nothing over the years.

Either way this has no impact on me because PC gaming will eventually be the preferred method. Most of the new cards coming out completely fucking demolish anything Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo currently has.Console systems are meant to have a long lifespan, however that is not very feasible with our current tech growth. It was fine in the 80's, 90's, and even the early 2000's when shit was considerably slower. I don't see them lasting when they are overran by "affordable" technology in a matter of a year or two.

PC gaming is the way to go for sure because it's better graphics, cheaper, 100% customizable systems, upgradable systems, and no companies to tell you don't tinker with our shit.

Bottom line for me, No Rentals, No purchase. I rent all my console games first, and keep the ones I like. There is no possibility I'll buy a XB1. Out of the approximate 40 games I own on the PS3 I rented 30 of them first, similarly out of the about 20 XB360 games I bought I rented 15 of them first.

I am waiting for clarification on the PS4. If gamefly rentals are still there on the PS4 I'll buy one at launch, otherwise I am no longer getting any console.

Not that this matters to you, but there are countries that don't allow game rentals. Japan is one.

I wonder if that whole issue with the WiiU not being well supported by EA has anything to do with this? As in EA thinking why should we give our full support to a system that doesn't have the same DRM features as the other consoles? (I'm fairly sure that Sony is going to have an equivalently heavy handed DRM system)

I can play Steam Offline. The shock, the horror! Microsoft is almost completely disabling this option on the X-Boner. My internet connection craps out for more than a day like has happened repeatedly, I can still play Tomb Raider offline. Steam has offline mode that can stay offline indefinitely. The X-Boner doesn't have this.

You can play Steam offline if your games are fully up-to-date, you were signed in beforehand with your account set to remember your password, and you CHOOSE to go into offline mode. If your internet connection just drops suddenly...no such luck. Considering they haven't announced their way of authenticating for personnel overseas, the XBox One could do the exact same thing.

On my last deployment, trying to get Steam's "Offline Mode" to work was an exercise in frustration. I eventually got it working, but the scenario you're pushing, that you can just play all your games if your connection goes down, is entirely bogus. I had to go online to authenticate, ensure my password was saved on the computer and then manually choose to go offline. It took about a month after we shipped out to get the aforementioned steps to work on a crappy connection I paid far too much for. I had originally assumed that it worked like you think: computer goes offline, I'm still good to go.

No such luck. Steam doesn't just let you play whatever you want just because you're offline.

With all these crazy restrictions, is gaming, or at least owning Xbox, really worth it? I remember my internet connection going down once for 3 wks due to isp problems. I couldn't play any game at that time (Windows live on PC). There is just too much other entertainment, and other gaming consoles (for now), to waste time on this nonsense.

I don't mean to be rude, but, sir, blame it on your isp.

I can never understand why people are quicker to condemn companies making good products (that require internet) for requiring internet, rather than putting pressure on internet companies to increase access and speed.

I want every product that makes sense to migrate to requiring internet (with good privacy protections). There's nothing that would have a more positive impact on internet access and speed than that.

Why does it need to check every 24 hours if I purchase the game digitally?

To verify the system is authorized to power on.

To verify that the games you've installed to your hard drive still belong to you. With the ability to have multiple Xbox Ones connected to the same account, purchasing the game digitally, transferring the license, and uninstalling that machine's copy isn't enough to ensure that you still own the game on all systems.

I guess I will be picking up a WiiU this gen and sticking with my PC. Looks like we will not get the option to rent games. This is a big deal for me as I'm not going to drop 60 bucks or more on a games that I cant try before I buy. At least on the PC I can pick up games cheap when Steam has a sale.and if they suck well I have only lost a few dollars.

Retail prices for new games have not been announced. These changes could very well lead to cheaper games (since publishers get a piece of the used game market), as well as Steam-like sales. I think that's the direction it should go, and I'm excited to see what happens.

Do you honestly think they are going to drop prices? When Bobby Kocktick, the devil himself bragged that he was shafting PC gamers by upping the price to 60 simply to get more profit. And then what did Ubisoft and EA do? They copied Activision. Jacked PC prices purely as a profit skim. I seriously doubt they will ever reduce the price on games in a market without rentals or resale.

I don't think it's necessary, but it would be a sign of good faith, and a very competitive move to make against Sony and Nintendo (as if you need to be competitive with Nintendo anymore).

I think this all sounds like a nightmare, and I hope that Sony offers an alternative strong enough to make Xbox regret it. (though I fear that releasing the bad news this early means that the fuss will have died down sufficiently for it to be a non-story when xmas shoppers start to pay attention to consoles)

But!

I think we're kidding ourselves if we act like steam, phone apps, and all non-physical media are "ownable" in the traditional sense. They're not. They're licenses. The IP holders own the content, as it should be. We used to own the CD, and thereby have an implied single-use license. Now there's no CD. (or in the case of xbone, the CD is just a placeholder so that retailers aren't excluded from the business entirely)

Is there a case of someone out there approving of third party, uncontrolled trade in unbound (ie not bound to physical media, or a serial number) licenses? (Actually asking, not strictly rhetorical)

I don't have a good suggestion, and I'm with y'all on the outrage about this particular implementation -- but I wonder if we're being realistic about digital licenses, and the fiction of ownership. We can insist that the companies put in place a system that arbitrarily controls these digital "goods" to provide something metaphorically similar to ownership -- but it will not be in their interest to do so, if consumers are at all willing to accept "licenses". (itunes, kindle and steam seem to suggest they are, under the right circumstances)

Console kids need to stop whining about used games. Steam has virtually eliminated what was left of the PC used games market, and as predicted by any sensible person it has been great for the industry. Many new games are introduced at a reduced price, and most of those that aren't drop in price quickly. It has opened the door for huge sales that are great for consumer, publisher and developer alike.

Used games are harmful to the industry. While the consumer benefits by paying less for the same product, the publisher and developer are cut out of the deal. If Microsoft plays this right they can offer games for the price point of the used market (or close to) but without removing the benefit to the publisher and developer.

on a console - you play the game off of the disk. On a PC you use the disk to install the program. Big difference. Take away the disk from the console - and you cannot play it. Take away the disk from the PC - and you can still play it. I've seen plenty of "no CD" scripts/hacks that you can run.

So it doesn't take too much imagination to see 1 PC disk being used to play on multiple PC's at one time - but you cannot do the same thing with a console.

This is a deal breaker for me. Forced always online is a bad idea. I like the controller, but i like ps4's way better. The touchpad is going to be very useful. The thing is definitely not travel friendly. Or gamer friendly. no used games? no lending a game to someone? no renting games? Forced connecting into the internet to phone home so that you can play stuff you bought?

You can play Steam offline if your games are fully up-to-date, you were signed in beforehand with your account set to remember your password, and you CHOOSE to go into offline mode. If your internet connection just drops suddenly...no such luck.

Absolutely wrong. If my internet connection fails, I can keep playing my single player games. You might need to actually unplug the network cable because Steam some times sees network activity as internet activity, but you can actually play offline from actual disconnects.

Wanna try that again?

Quote:

Considering they haven't announced their way of authenticating for personnel overseas, the XBox One could do the exact same thing.

If they give over seas an ability to play offline but keep it out of the US, thats a pretty big fail.

Quote:

On my last deployment, trying to get Steam's "Offline Mode" to work was an exercise in frustration. I eventually got it working, but the scenario you're pushing, that you can just play all your games if your connection goes down, is entirely bogus. I had to go online to authenticate, ensure my password was saved on the computer and then manually choose to go offline. It took about a month after we shipped out to get the aforementioned steps to work on a crappy connection I paid far too much for. I had originally assumed that it worked like you think: computer goes offline, I'm still good to go.

No such luck. Steam doesn't just let you play whatever you want just because you're offline.

Steam Offline used to suck donkey balls. Its not nearly so bad these days. The key is not getting caught with a stealth update. Steam will detect updates but only tell you about them well afterwards. Meaning you can turn your computer off with no Steam update but get hit with one next time your PC is turned on. Thats shitty. But the offline capability has improved. And the ability to play offline from unplanned outages has improved. Last internet outage I got every Steam game I wanted to ran without a hitch.

I feel for the local game store that are not Gamestop. We have two in town along with Gamestop and they stock all generations of used games. Will Microsoft give them the same access they give Gamestop to this system?

Absolutely wrong. If my internet connection fails, I can keep playing my single player games. You might need to actually unplug the network cable because Steam some times sees network activity as internet activity, but you can actually play offline from actual disconnects.

Wanna try that again?

No, I don't. If you're ALREADY signed in and playing, Steam will let you continue. If you haven't taken the steps I detailed, you can't launch Steam to offline mode (last I checked). I went through this the last time I deployed, as I said. I couldn't just lose my internet connection and fire up my computer and play Steam. If I was already online, Steam didn't kick me off (since you already authenticated). I didn't see anything that suggested the XBox One would suddenly seize up at exactly the 24 hour mark, either. You can, however, fire up the XBox One without a connection and log directly into "offline mode" for 24 hours after the last "check". If Steam has improved to allow offline login without having to have my password stored and offline enabled prior to turning my computer on, that's news to me.

Quote:

Quote:

Considering they haven't announced their way of authenticating for personnel overseas, the XBox One could do the exact same thing.

If they give over seas an ability to play offline but keep it out of the US, thats a pretty big fail.

I think you misunderstand. "Offline mode" for Steam lets you allow Steam to launch, while offline, indefinitely, which is useful for troops overseas (as well as many others). Microsoft has hinted that they have a plan for such users, which could be the exact same "download all updates and launch into a special Offline Mode" option that Steam has, which would be useful for people in combat zones...and everyone else. I used "troops overseas" not to describe WHERE such a feature would work, but rather a situation I and many other people in the service actually faced when it would be useful.

No its all about lining there pockets with more cash but what they fail to realize is that the 2nd hand and rental market has a huge effect on driving new game sales.

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What evidence is there for this?

I'm very sensitive to the publishers and developers when it comes to used games.

Gamestop can fetch up to $50 for a game they paid $20.

Think about this a little bit. The developer who spent years and devoted enormous resources and time gets zero from this transaction. The publisher, who fronted the money for the developer and risked getting little in return also gets zero from the transaction.

Meanwhile, Gamestop, can generate 100%+ profit on games in which they risked nothing and contributed nothing to its success.

The publishers and developers are 100% responsible for every single quality game out there that drives all of the resale activity. They also assume all of the losses from the games that don't drive any resell activity.

Meanwhile second-hand sellers like Gamestop derive 100% of the profit form resell activity without creating a single quality game or assuming any of the risk involved.

Why gamers wish to protect a system that rewards the scavengers and parasites living off the creative efforts of others is beyond me.

Bottom line for me, No Rentals, No purchase. I rent all my console games first, and keep the ones I like. There is no possibility I'll buy a XB1. Out of the approximate 40 games I own on the PS3 I rented 30 of them first, similarly out of the about 20 XB360 games I bought I rented 15 of them first.

I am waiting for clarification on the PS4. If gamefly rentals are still there on the PS4 I'll buy one at launch, otherwise I am no longer getting any console.

this is where i am too... i will not buy a system where i can't try games first.

to be clear, i currently have multiple xbox 360s. i have a windows phone. i currently watch ALL my media on my xbox. my computer serves up media center to the rooms. i will simply not be buying the One if i cannot play a single copy in one room then go to the other and play it. that seems to not be the case so that is it. i won't be getting a windows 8 phone because they failed to improve the OS.

i try not to be a naysayer, but i think i will be taking a break from the MS ecosystem. This fall i am getting a new phone and several new consoles. i actually think i would be hassled less about my media and games with windows 7, android, and a PS4 or Wii U, than windows 8, xOne, and WP8. so easy choice I guess.

Lots of people hate the lack of reselling of games and this will make them stick with steam (a system that doesn't allow resale). This logic doesn't make sense to me. Now, it is fair to wonder how the price drop will be handled but my opinion is that anyone that likes steam cannot complain about the Xbox one just yet. Maybe in a year after we see no price drops for games but until then I don't see the basis for complaining. Still, in the end it is a good idea to vote with your wallet. If you hate the new paradigm then you should absolutely pass on the xbone.

Steam makes sense becuase of the price point. Many times titles are sold for between $5 and $10 including all DLC. for that price I am willing to accept those restrictions, for a $60 game on media, I am not.

$60 PC games are discounted faster on Amazon. What is the excuse for that?

I really don't see how "sales" are a justification for Steam DRM. PC games went on sale before Steam existed and you could always find cheap deals online if you looked around.

Furthermore PC games should never have gone to $60 when there is no console royalty fee. But Steam actually takes that and more since their fee is rumored to be around 30%.

I use Steam but I prefer GOG since I don't believe for one second that Steam is good for gamers. Retail acts as a pricing pressure since they constantly expect producers of any type to lower their prices if sales decrease. Going digital removes this pressure and is partly why you see $60 games on Steam a year after release. GOG at least allows transfers since it is DRM free and they aren't obsessed with profits like Steam.

No, I don't. If you're ALREADY signed in and playing, Steam will let you continue. If you haven't taken the steps I detailed, you can't launch Steam to offline mode (last I checked). I went through this the last time I deployed, as I said. I couldn't just lose my internet connection and fire up my computer and play Steam. If I was already online, Steam didn't kick me off (since you already authenticated). I didn't see anything that suggested the XBox One would suddenly seize up at exactly the 24 hour mark, either. You can, however, fire up the XBox One without a connection and log directly into "offline mode" for 24 hours after the last "check". If Steam has improved to allow offline login without having to have my password stored and offline enabled prior to turning my computer on, that's news to me.

I have a laptop that rarely gets on the internet anymore. As in it can go months. But when I take it in to work, Steam lets me sign in without being in offline mode preemptively. It recognizes I have no internet connection when it fails to connect to the Steam network and then lets me switch it over to Offline mode. It lets me switch it from online to offline because it detected there was no internet connection.

The problem lies in games that require additional components after initial download. I get irritated to find a game doesn't work because I didn't launch it while connected. But thats a failure of the game developer.

The biggest problem I've had with Steam offline is the stealth updates. I went on a trip. Didn't expect to be without the Internet for a week, but thats what happened. And first attempt at launching Steam ended in failure because it was asking me to run a Steam update. An update that was detected when I had been home, but was not communicated to me. And now Steam demanded I download this update before it let me in. Which was kinda bad since I had no internet connection. That was a royal pain in the ass because half my library on the laptop was locked away from me.

That is my sole sticking point to Steam. However, because Steam is now my Everything, its my sole Instant Messaging client, I just leave Steam running at all times. No more stealth updates because I detect them while online at all times. At least on my desktop. My laptop, well there is a reason why I leave it disconnected from the internet. But my laptop was never specifically put into offline mode preemptively.

Kyle Orland / Kyle is the Senior Gaming Editor at Ars Technica, specializing in video game hardware and software. He has journalism and computer science degrees from University of Maryland. He is based in the Washington, DC area.